Sunday, August 13, 2017

No Outline Required

Different people take different approaches. Doesn’t matter
if you’re talking about life, career paths, culinary efforts or the route to
the grocery store. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Imagine how boring it
would be if we all did the same things in the very same way.

Take writing.There
are some very talented authors who are meticulous when it comes to planning out
their work. They take the time to diligently plot out each step along the way.
Some use notecards, others use a spreadsheet on the computer or a large
whiteboard or flip chart. Hey, whatever works.

But that method is definitely not for me.

Even from an early age, I had difficulty working with an
outline. It was too restrictive and made writing almost painful. I remember a
nun at the elementary school who required an outline to be written and turned
in before we wrote the paper. I cringed. I struggled. Nothing came to light.
Images of getting my knuckles cracked by the good sister’s ruler for my
ineptitude didn’t help matters. Then inspiration struck.

I wrote the paper first. Got it where it worked and covered
all the topics. Then I went back and wrote the outline. That was turned in on
schedule and I already had the big project done.The nun was pleased with both the paper and
the outline. So in the long run, everything worked out just fine.

But I still can’t write with an outline.

I find it confining. For me, it’s more natural to come up
with an idea for the overall story and maybe a key character or two.Once I’ve got them settled in, it’s my job to
turn them loose. Forget micromanaging. I just trot along beside them and see
what happens. And when I write, it’s rare that the story is shaped in
chronological order. Very often I’ll have an idea for a scene or some dialogue
that will just keep the neurons firing in my brain until the only recourse is
to write it. When it’s down on the computer, then I can go back to the story.
That’s one of the beauties of technology. I can move paragraphs or pages
anywhere, all at the click of a button. Write it in sequence?No thanks!

Here’s an example from “Why 319?” In this scene, Captain
Pappy Cantrell grudgingly reveals his strategy for the three homicide investigations
to Sergeant Jefferson Chene. The story is told from Chene’s perspective.

I waited until everyone else filed
out of the room. Cantrell let his eyes close as if he were meditating. With the
smoke curling up around his head, he looked like something out of a Tennessee
monastery. The Art of Zen, courtesy of Jack Daniels.

“Well?” he muttered without opening
his eyes.

“When were you going to clue me in
on this plan, Pappy?”

“Y’all weren’t ready.”

I didn’t try to keep the anger from
my voice. “Bullshit. I’ve been the lead on ninety percent of the investigations
we’ve handled for the last three years. You know it. I know it. The whole
freaking squad knows it.”

He took a long drag and pulled the
cigarette from his lips. “But not everybody likes it.”

I didn’t even have to think about
it. “You mean Barksdale. The guy’s a dinosaur.”

“Would that be a triceratops?”

I was surprised he was able to name
one, but then, Cantrell could be full of surprises. Like this new plan. “So how
do you see this?”

“We split into three teams, just
like Ah said. We put Koz with the new girl, Laura. Give them the oldest case,
the Wayne County. You and Megan take the Macomb one. Bloomfield will want their
girlie working their crime. We stick her with Barksdale.”

“So why didn’t you tell me before?”

“You all right, Chene, but you ain’t
no actor. Ah wanted everyone to know this was a surprise, even you. It made
your reaction real. You gettin’ pissy ’cause Ah didn’t tell you about it first.”

I considered it for a moment. The
old bastard had it down cold. Barksdale would have pitched a holy fit if I’d
made the decision to split the team by case and assign him the outsider. He and
Megan could barely stand each other. Laura was too new to stick with him. That
left the Bloomfield detective. Since the orders were coming down from Cantrell,
there was no way he’d argue it. Especially when it appeared that Cantrell did
not trust me to make the call. It was a stroke of genius, pure logistical
genius. I told him as much.

“’Tweren’t nothin. You might have
figured it out in a couple of days.”

Hometown Reads

Why 319?

Devious

Vanishing Act

Fleeing Beauty

Fade Away

Pages

About Me

Yes,
my name really is Mark Love. I am a Michigan native, who up until recently
lived in the Metro Detroit area, where crime and corruption always seem to be
at the top of everyone's news. So there's always the chance to find something
that can trigger a story idea and enough interesting characters to jump start
your imagination.

While I have worked in many
industries and career paths over the years, one of my passions has always been
writing. I was even able to parlay that passion for a while, working as a
freelance reporter for a couple of newspapers in the Detroit area. Writing
features and hard news helped me hone my talents. But while newspaper worked
was interesting and paid a few bills, it was a far cry from the fiction writing
that I enjoy the most.

I've always been drawn to mysteries
and thrillers, the kind of stories that have a fast pace, that keep you moving
and keep you guessing as to what's going to take place next. Mix those in with
some elements of crime, perhaps a glimpse of the seedier side and you've got
me. So it's always been one of my goals to write stories like that.